CLASS 3A HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Blanchard's Braden Stringer fights off Kingfisher's Keaton Ely during the Class 3A football championship between Blanchard and Kingfisher at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Friday, Dec. 7, 2012. Blanchard won 28-21. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Blanchard's Class 3A title defense has gotten off to a strong start, and once again, running back Braden Stringer has been at the heart of the charge.

Stringer has had a pair of 200-yard games to start the season, going for 238 yards and three touchdowns in Friday's 48-6 win over Lindsay.

Top-ranked Blanchard closes the nondistrict schedule with a visit from nearby rival Newcastle on Friday.

HARRAH ENDS SKID

Harrah coach Phil Webb told his team it was time to get the monkey off their backs.

The Panthers did just that Friday, beating Piedmont 29-0 and ending a seven-game losing streak that dated back to last season.

Dak Stephens scored two touchdowns, kicked three extra points and had an interception. The defense, though, was huge, coming up with three goal-line stands for Harrah (1-1).

“We put our defense in a hole there a couple of times and they stood up and answered the call,” Webb said.

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by Scott Wright

Reporter

A lifelong resident of the Oklahoma City metro area, Scott Wright has been on The Oklahoman staff since 2005, covering a little bit of everything on the state's sports scene. He has been a beat writer for football and basketball at Oklahoma and...

Jacob Unruh is a graduate of Northeastern State University. He was born in Cherokee and raised near Vera where he attended Caney Valley High School.During his tenure at NSU, Unruh wrote for The Northeastern (NSU's student newspaper), the...